IPOH: A teacher, who panicked when she came across a herd of elephants, crashed into an elephant calf at Km43.6 of the East-West Highway near Air Banun early this morning.

Gerik police chief Supt Ismail Che Isa said the incident occurred at about 2.30am when Aznida Alias, 49, was travelling from Tanah Merah, Kelantan to Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Arau, Perlis. “It was pitch dark and the victim, who was driving a Nissan Almera did not expect to see a herd of elephants in the middle of the road.

“As the elephants were so close to her car, she could not avoid hitting and killing one of them.

“She then headed to the nearest police station to make a report,” he told Bernama.

He said the teacher, her husband and their three children who were in the car, escaped unhurt.

Meanwhile, Ismail refuted claims that after the incident several of the elephants went into a rampage.

“The news which went viral on Facebook and WhatsApp are false and should be stopped as people are now afraid to use the road.

“No elephants or mother elephant went on a rampage,” he said.

He said the location was an area where elephants and other wild animals roam and the herd of elephant there tends to be very active from 10pm until the wee hours of the morning. – BERNAMA